Adjustable beds may be used to reposition a user within a bed to a desired position. However, adjustable beds typically do not assist in rolling a user completely over, either by rolling a user from lying on their back to lying on their front, or vice versa. Additionally, while some adjustable beds may assist a user in rolling over, the range of motion of the typical adjustable bed is small and often insufficient to fully roll a user over.
An adjustable bed capable of rolling a user completely over is particularly useful in hospitals and other caregiving industries. Typically to roll an incapacitated patient over, such as to provide a bath or provide other care, a nurse or caregiver must physically push or pull the patient to manipulate them into the desired position. This may be problematic when a patient is overweight or obese, as injuries may result to the nurse or caregiver as a result of manipulating a patient within a bed.
In fact, it has been found that caring for obese patients poses a substantial challenge to hospitals and health care workers. Due to a greater number of obese patients, a sharp increase in workplace related injuries to health care workers has been observed. Common injuries suffered as a result by health care workers include back injuries as a result of lifting obese patients.
Additionally, obese or incapacitated patients are often dependent on having health care workers assist them in rolling over or repositioning themselves in a bed, and the patients are incapable of rolling themselves over when alone.
What is needed, therefore, is an adjustable bed that facilitates the rolling over and repositioning of a patient.